The Gardener and His Landlord

A man who had a great fondness for gardening, being half a countryman and half town-bred, possessed in a certain village a fair-sized plot with a field attached, and all enclosed by a quickset hedge. Here sorrel and lettuce grew freely, as well as such flowers as Spanish jasmine and wild thyme, and from these his good wife Margot culled many a posy for her high days and holidays.

Seorang pria yang sangat menyukai berkebun, setengah orang desa dan setengah orang kota, memiliki di sebuah desa tertentu sebidang tanah berukuran cukup luas dengan ladang yang menyertainya, semuanya dikelilingi oleh pagar semak yang rapat. Di sana tumbuh subur daun asam dan selada, begitu pula bunga-bunga seperti melati Spanyol dan timi liar, dan dari semua itu istrinya yang baik, Margot, memetik banyak karangan bunga untuk hari-hari besar dan perayaan.

This happy state of things was soon troubled by the visits of a hare, and to such an extent that the man had to go to his landlord and lodge a complaint. "This wretched animal," he said, "comes here and stuffs himself night and morning, and simply laughs at traps and snares. As for stones and sticks they make no difference whatever to him. He must be enchanted."

Keadaan bahagia ini segera terganggu oleh kunjungan seekor kelinci liar, dan sedemikian rupa sehingga pria itu harus pergi ke tuan tanahnya untuk mengajukan keluhan. "Binatang menyebalkan ini," katanya, "datang ke sini dan makan sepuasnya pagi dan malam, dan hanya menertawakan jerat dan perangkap. Adapun batu dan tongkat, semua itu tidak berarti apa-apa baginya. Ia pasti bersihir."

"Enchanted!" cried the landlord. "I defy enchantment! Were he the devil himself old Towler would soon rout him out in spite of his tricks. I'll rid you of him, my man, never fear!"

"Bersihir!" seru tuan tanah itu. "Aku menantang sihir apa pun! Sekalipun ia iblis sendiri, si tua Towler akan segera mengusirnya keluar meski dengan segala tipu dayanya. Aku akan membebaskanmu darinya, kawan, jangan khawatir!"

"And when?" asked the man.

"Dan kapan itu?" tanya pria itu.

"Oh, to-morrow, without more delay!"

"Oh, besok, tanpa penundaan lagi!"

The affair being thus arranged, on the morrow came the landlord with all his following. "First of all," he said, "how about breakfast? Your chickens are tender I'll be bound. Come here, my dear," he added, addressing the man's daughter, and then, to her father, "When are you going to let her marry? Hasn't a son-in-law come on the scene yet? My dear fellow, this is a thing that positively must be done you know, you'll have to put your hand in your pocket to some purpose."

Perkara itu pun telah diatur demikian, dan keesokan harinya datanglah tuan tanah itu bersama seluruh rombongannya. "Pertama-tama," katanya, "bagaimana dengan sarapan? Ayam-ayammu pasti empuk, aku yakin itu. Kemarilah, sayangku," tambahnya, menyapa anak perempuan pria itu, lalu, kepada sang ayah, "Kapan kau akan mengizinkannya menikah? Belum ada calon menantu yang muncul? Sobatku, ini adalah hal yang benar-benar harus dilakukan, tahu, kau harus mengeluarkan uang untuk itu."

So saying he sat down beside the damsel, took her hand, held her by the arm, toyed with her fichu, and took other silly and trifling liberties which the girl resented with great self-respect, whilst the father grew a little uneasy in his mind.

Sambil berkata begitu ia duduk di samping sang gadis, memegang tangannya, menggenggam lengannya, mempermainkan syal lehernya, dan mengambil kebebasan-kebebasan lain yang sembrono dan remeh yang ditolak gadis itu dengan harga diri yang besar, sementara sang ayah mulai merasa sedikit gelisah.

Nevertheless, the cooking went on. There was quite a run on the kitchen.

Meski demikian, memasak terus berlangsung. Dapur menjadi sangat ramai.

"How ripe are your hams? They look good."

"Seberapa matang ham-hammu? Kelihatannya enak."

"Sir," replied the flattered host, "they are yours."

"Tuan," jawab sang tuan rumah yang tersanjung, "semua itu milik Tuan."

"Oh, really now! Well I'll take them, and that right gladly."

"Oh, sungguh! Kalau begitu aku akan mengambilnya, dengan senang hati."

The landlord and his family, his dogs, his horses, and his men-servants, all take breakfast with hearty appetites. He assumes the host's place and privileges, drinks his wine and caresses his daughter. After this a crowd of hunters take seats at the breakfast table.

Tuan tanah dan keluarganya, anjing-anjingnya, kuda-kudanya, dan para pelayannya, semuanya sarapan dengan selera yang lahap. Ia mengambil alih tempat dan hak istimewa sang tuan rumah, meminum anggurnya dan membelai putrinya. Setelah itu, sekelompok pemburu duduk di meja sarapan.

Now everybody is lively and busy with preparations for the hunt. They wind the horns to such purpose that the good man is dumbfounded by the din. Worse than that they make terrible havoc in the poor garden. Good-bye to all the neat rows and beds! Good-bye to the chickory and the leeks! Good-bye to all the pot-herbs!

Kini semua orang bersemangat dan sibuk mempersiapkan perburuan. Mereka meniup terompet dengan begitu kerasnya sehingga pria malang itu tercengang oleh kegaduhan itu. Lebih buruk lagi, mereka membuat kekacauan mengerikan di kebun yang malang itu. Selamat tinggal semua bedengan dan larikan yang rapi! Selamat tinggal cikori dan bawang prei!

The hare lies hidden under the leaves of a great cabbage, but being discovered is quickly started, whereupon he rushes to a hole—nay, worse than a hole, a great and horrible gap in the poor hedge, made by the landlord's order, so that they might all burst out of the garden in fine style; for it would have looked ridiculous for them to ride out at the gate.

Kelinci itu bersembunyi di bawah daun-daun sebuah kubis besar, tetapi begitu ditemukan ia segera diusir, lalu berlari ke sebuah lubang—bukan, lebih buruk dari lubang, sebuah celah besar dan mengerikan di pagar yang malang itu, dibuat atas perintah tuan tanah, agar mereka semua bisa berhamburan keluar dari kebun dengan gaya yang megah; sebab akan tampak konyol jika mereka menunggang kuda keluar lewat gerbang.

The poor man objected. "This is fine fun for princes, no doubt——"; but they let him talk, whilst dogs and men together did more harm in one hour than all the hares in the province would have done in a century.

Pria malang itu memprotes. "Ini memang hiburan yang menyenangkan bagi para bangsawan, tak diragukan lagi——"; tetapi mereka membiarkannya berbicara, sementara anjing-anjing dan orang-orang bersama-sama membuat lebih banyak kerusakan dalam satu jam daripada seluruh kelinci di provinsi itu akan lakukan dalam satu abad.

Little princes, settle your own quarrels amongst yourselves. It is madness to have recourse to kings. You should never let them engage in your wars, nor even enter your domains.

Para bangsawan kecil, selesaikanlah pertikaian kalian sendiri di antara kalian. Sungguh gila meminta bantuan raja-raja. Kalian tidak boleh pernah membiarkan mereka terlibat dalam perang kalian, atau bahkan memasuki wilayah kalian.